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SQUALOR OF SIN Q4.17-8, Q10.23

I employed a maid once; a young girl who was supposed to help with the house chores in exchange for a stipend and an education. Her folks seemed enthused by the idea that her education and upkeep would be taken out of their hands. I was happy because I needed assistance in the house as I was gradually pushing at my expected date of delivery (EDD) and had a toddler running loops around my feet.

She had stayed for less than one week and began to request to return. People tried to convince her to stay and remind her to look at the benefits she would acquire from her stint in the city but she refused to budge. She cried the whole day, night and the next day she was scheduled to return. Everyone asked her if she was being maltreated in any way, she replied in the negative. So, why not stay? She was missing her family, she said, amongst other petty issues.

Those who heard felt she was silly to forfeit a lifetime privilege of education in the city and an upgrade just because she wanted to be with her widowed mother in the village. Wouldn’t she be of better benefit to her family if she was educated?
As mind-boggling as that is, it’s the same way we treat Allah’s Favours. However, we need Allah. He doesn’t need us.
There is so much He has blessed us with, much more He has promised us but that doesn’t change our mind from insisting on embarking on that one-way trip back to poverty. He has promised us gardens underneath which rivers flow in a city of Allah’s Mercy and Blessings but we would rather return to the village of despair to dwell in the squalor of sin.

It is mind-boggling. Unfathomable. Strange. Stupid, even! However, it is how we would rather respond to Allah’s Kindness. The good thing is that He is always there waiting for us to return to the city to enjoy the dividends of believing in Him. He waits patiently for us to recognise the error of our ways and return to Him in repentance.

How awesome is that!

PS. I use analogies and parables to help us better understand the topic at hand. Allah (SWT) is way beyond ALL comparison!